Taking a nap? You’ve been asleep for almost ten days, and you call that a nap! For a mayfly that lives only a morning and evening, that’s enough time to live several lifetimes!
Qi Ping finally had a direct understanding of the Stone Spirit’s sleeping ability. Compared to how it can sleep for hundreds or thousands of years at a stretch, ten days probably doesn’t even count as a nap.
“We’re here. It’s very safe.”
“Ding ding… (Here? There’s spiritual energy here too, this is great!)”
Immediately after, the little Stone Spirit sniffed the air again, as if it had discovered something.
“Ding ding… (There’s a tiny bit of a mineral vein underground, but it’s not much, and the quality isn’t very high. Still, it’s already awesome!)”
With this, the little Stone Spirit was already very satisfied. This way, living here wouldn’t make it weak. Most importantly, safety was priceless!
In its bloodline memories, the world of cultivation was a terrifying place. Exposing itself would basically mean certain death, so it absolutely had to hide somewhere safe.
“Mm, you live here with peace of mind for now. Once I bring the spirit vein back, the spiritual energy here will be even richer!”
“Ding ding! (That would be fantastic! If there’s enough spiritual energy, the place where I sleep can even produce a really delicious type of metallic ore. When that happens, I’ll share half with you!)”
That type of ore was incredibly tasty for the little Stone Spirit.
“You can keep it for yourself, no need to share with me…”
Qi Ping smiled and shook his head, declining the little Stone Spirit’s offer.
“Ding ding… (It’s really delicious! Anyway, you’ll get to try it when the time comes… When will that contract ceremony start?)”
“I can’t bite into metallic ore… Let’s start the contract ceremony right now!”
With that, Qi Ping initiated the summoning ritual. That familiar, dark green magic circle began to slowly take shape again.
At this moment, Qi Ping couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement.
This was a Stone Spirit!
Although he couldn’t determine the exact grade of this little Stone Spirit yet, he was certain its grade was higher than Ya Ya’s!
Moreover, for a creature like the Stone Spirit, born from the wonders of nature, the potential for advancement was high, and the difficulty was relatively low, as long as there were enough ores.
High-quality mineral veins weren’t easy to find in human territory, but they would be much easier to find in the妖族的 territory (yao zu, demon clan territory), which was far richer in mineral veins than human lands.
In the future, when the second stage of [Wilderness Transformation] was unlocked, Qi Ping could attempt to enter and leave the demon clan territory under the guise of a demon.
As long as he could find a powerful metal ore vein, the little Stone Spirit’s rank and talents could undergo rapid improvement.
However, what excited Qi Ping the most at this stage was the ability to share one of the little Stone Spirit’s talents.
Based on the information Qi Ping knew, most types of Stone Spirits possessed three talents: [Defense], [Earth Affinity], and [Lifespan], and almost each one was exceptionally prominent.
Take the [Lifespan] talent, for example. Basically, a Stone Spirit in its waking state could live for over ten thousand years. If in a dormant state, it could even survive for hundreds of thousands of years, making it an absolute super-centenarian in the cultivation world.
Even turtle-type demon beasts among the spirit beasts, known for their long lifespans, would have to concede defeat.
So if Qi Ping could share this talent, it would undoubtedly give him much more time to break through cultivation levels and create techniques and spells.
Besides the [Lifespan] talent, the other two main talents of the Stone Spirit were also impressive.
No matter which one he contracted, it would be very beneficial for Qi Ping.
However, Qi Ping couldn’t be entirely sure if these three were the little Stone Spirit’s main talents. In the rules for sharing talents with animal companions, the highest probability was sharing the three main talents of the animal companion.
However, because individuals differ, the variations among spirit beasts due to bloodline were relatively small, but issues like certain individuals having special talents, having over ten talents, or having generally weak talents did exist.
Qi Ping hadn’t yet encountered an individual with extremely powerful, special talents. Overall, the shared talents were the main ones from a normal bloodline.
So Qi Ping also tried his best to avoid animal companions with obviously weak talents.
Since he couldn’t check the attribute panel of each spirit beast companion, Qi Ping had to rely on his own judgment and his knowledge of spirit beasts to assess a spirit beast’s attributes and talents.
However, in the vast majority of cases, a spirit beast’s main talents were constant. In the game Qi Ping remembered, there might be differences in the talents of different individual pet beasts, but the shared talents were basically unchanged. Still, there was a small chance of sharing other talents, which could be better or worse…
[Species: Innate Stone Spirit]
[Bloodline: Unknown, Special Creature]
[Talents: Golden Stone Body, Origin Stone Armor, Golden Stone Lifespan]
Golden Stone Body: A special physique among Metal elemental talents. It grants extremely high Metal elemental aptitude and allows for effective manipulation of Metal elemental items.
Origin Stone Armor: Allows manipulation of Metal and Stone elements to cover the entire body and perform special enhancements. After enhancement, it grants extremely high defense and a certain degree of strength amplification.
Golden Stone Lifespan: Possesses a lifespan surpassing that of most creatures. Can survive for hundreds of thousands of years in a dormant state and can also live for over ten thousand years in a waking state.
[Evaluation: Born from the wonders of nature, this is a relatively special creature in the cultivation world, possessing extraordinary and remarkable abilities.]
“Such a powerful creature…”
Recalling the descriptions of the Stone Spirit’s abilities in the books, Qi Ping couldn’t help but marvel at its power.
It’s a pity that, due to their suitability for forging weapons, in the end, all of the two thousand strongest members of their entire race were turned into a set of sword formations.
Qi Ping found it hard to imagine just how terrifying the power of that set of artifacts would be after the once-mighty Stone Spirit race was refined into a set of magical instruments.
However, the downside of being too powerful was not absent. It was said that this set of artifacts had already turned against more than one master. Since the day it was created, no one had ever truly mastered this super sword array artifact. In contrast, ordinary magical instruments refined from ordinary Stone Spirits often shone brilliantly in the cultivation world.
“No matter which talent I share this time, it will be incredibly useful to me!”
The value of lifespan goes without saying; a lifespan of over ten thousand years would drive any cultivator crazy.
Qi Ping had also witnessed the power of Origin Stone Armor. After the little Stone Spirit used this talent in its weakened state, attacks from cultivators of the same level were practically like tickling it. This life-saving ability was astonishingly strong.
Finally, Golden Stone Body might seem ordinary, but it provided extremely high Metal elemental aptitude. Moreover, this talent would also allow Qi Ping to manipulate any metallic object.
According to records of battles with Stone Spirits, the power of all metallic weapons was greatly diminished.
And since the vast majority of magical instruments in the cultivation world were metallic, the impact of this talent was truly terrifying.
At that moment, Qi Ping’s contract circle was fully formed and then merged into the little Stone Spirit’s body.
Immediately after, a special insight rose within Qi Ping’s mind:
“Golden Stone Body…”
